I’m trans and a queer woman and person. I like to read about, see, play as, people who are like me. I was hoping we could maybe recommend different pieces of media to each other and chat about characters, themes, who we identify with, etc.

I’ll start by bringing up the manga Double House. It’s possibly my favorite. It is about a trans woman in Japan and her life, finding love, and dealing with her insecurities and friendships. Her name is Maho Ryoutarou and she ends up meeting a cis woman named Fujiko Kouzu, the story mainly focuses on their relationship. It’s a story about a trans woman and two queer women so it is like a double whammy for me when it comes to reading something about people like me. The manga was written by Nanae Haruno. A warning it features alcoholism and the t slur is used once at the very beginning.

I usually try to avoid the drama genre regarding queer media because our life can already be difficult enough by itself and the ubiquitous sad endings where everybody fucking dies or ends up alone don’t help at all, however I liked a swedish film called Patrik 1.5 where a gay couple decide they want to adopt a toddler from foster care but due to some misunderstanding end up being sent a problematic 15 years old kid. The movie has its fair share of drama and characters dealing with homophobia but things end up working up after all.

I’m glad to see someone else liked Double House too. It was recommended to me long ago by a good trans friend. <3

I tend to try and find the happier stories myself these days. I’m also sick of bury our gays and the like. I want to see stories of people like me being happy. That’s not to say we can’t discuss more dramatic or depressing ones that’s just what I like to see more of.

I don’t know if I can get access to that film easily but it sounds good!

Going to list off a few webcomics I follow that would count (and all are made by queer creators):

Floraverse - A comic about a world that isn’t all that it seems.Goodbye to Halos (Warning: some nudity in later pages) - An angel graces a city, and looks for her dad.Electrum - A synth and a sapient robot discover themselves.

The short single volume manga Hanayome Wa Motodanshi (The Bride Was A Boy) is about a trans woman and her boyfriend/fiance/husband, it’s also autobiographical/educational. It was a nice read. Cute art. Read it if you want a story that has a happy ending.

I’m a straight white dude and I thought it was interesting and enlightening.

Oh nice Webcomics! I’m gonna have so many things to read and watch thanks to this thread. <3

I’ll see if I can find The Bride Was A Boy, a bit of an unfortunate name but I get translation/cultural differences.

Oooo that is high praise I’ll have to check out Wandering Son.

Another one I remember is Honey and Honey, it’s a simple long manga about a lesbian in Japan who has found her SO and their relationship. It is very lighthearted and about little couple things and humorous instances between the two.

Yuri On Ice is a really tasteful example of a gay story done really well, mostly by being treated as one component of a story rather than the entire thrust.

In case you hadn’t heard about it, it’s a sports anime focused around the world of men’s figure skating. It has all the tropes of training, big deal tournaments, and rivals, but weaves in a romantic plot between the main character and his coach. It’s done in a way that one could argue is bordering on queer baiting at first, but the kiss and eventual exchange of rings (without the explicit declaration of marriage at the time, even though the reaction to them is as if they were engaged) make it really hard to argue that by the end.

I actually found it to be a very tasteful romance, and I enjoyed how it played out with the same chasteness and indirectness as a lot of actual romance, and more importantly, dramatic romance. There’s something to be said about how it presents what it does without trying to call attention to itself, and it never loses sight of the fact that it’s about ice skating.

Oh Human Star is a sci-fi webcomic that essentially is about a man who wakes up 16 years later after his death in a robot body, in a future populated by synthetic beings that was made possible by his work before his death. The POV swaps between him, his surviving boyfriend (who carried on his work after his death), and a trans girl who – well, it’s complicated. The creator is definitely queer and probably trans (I am like 99% certain on this, but the twitter doesn’t make it explicit). I felt it was a bit of a slow burn at the start but I’m really into these days (to the point I’ve joined the Patreon).

Also Gone Home is very good. I finished it around two weeks ago and it was still great, even though I spoiled myself on the major plot beforehand.

I’ve recommended it before on another media thread, but All Our Worlds is a great book database for finding diverse literature.

Of recent books I’ve read:

The Red Threads of Fortune by J. Y. Yang: Bi/pan protagonist, nonbinary love interest, some really awesome world building and a magic system. It says it’s the second in the series, but is actually a novella that came out as a pair. (I’m currently reading it, so I’ll update if anything changes my opinion on it.)

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey: Gay protagonist, nonbinary love interest, genderfluid secondary character. A novella about hippo ranching in Louisiana, which was something I did not know was almost a real thing until I read this book. Has a sequel novella, haven’t read it yet.

The Long Way to a Small Angry, Planet by Becky Chambers: I yell about this book every time there’s an appropriate book thread and will continue to do some. A sci-fi adventure about the crew heading out to open a wormhole into new territory. The sequel is really lovely too.

Friends at the Table: Friends at the Table is an actual play podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends. There’s a great thread on the forums, here is and a flowchart on where to start, but basically it’s a great tabletop RPG with great settings and characters.

The Red Threads of Fortune by J. Y. Yang: Bi/pan protagonist, nonbinary love interest, some really awesome world building and a magic system. It says it’s the second in the series, but is actually a novella that came out as a pair. (I’m currently reading it, so I’ll update if anything changes my opinion on it.)

I am definitely going to have to pick this up at some point - at this point I’ve seen 4 people recommend it!

Catamari:

The Long Way to a Small Angry, Planet by Becky Chambers: I yell about this book every time there’s an appropriate book thread and will continue to do some. A sci-fi adventure about the crew heading out to open a wormhole into new territory. The sequel is really lovely too.

I’ll join you in the yelling!
I loved this book so much, particularly in how it de-emphasized violence (I think a lot about this wrt media, especially games). And I thought its sequel was even better, even if it wasn’t nearly as lighthearted. The narrator in the audiobooks is excellent.

Books are a bit tricky for me since I have to hide them from my family. I’m out to my immediate family(My mom I told then she against my wishes outed me to everyone else). But if I ever get my own place I’d love to pick up some great books like that!

I’m just realizing reading it now that I’ve actually read The Bride Was a Boy before I just didn’t remember the name. It’s so cute!

E-readers (and their equivalent phone apps) are a godsend for reading books that you don’t want other people to see. Goodness knows I use mine regularly (I read a lot of romance books). Some libraries will also check out ebooks to patrons, so that’s an option.

If you can forget what happened in the original Life is Strange, Before the Storm is a good, cute game about cute queer girls who are each troubled in their own ways, but are helping each other through life by being there for each other. Just… don’t think of the original game.